Abstract
Purpose
Very limited research has been devoted to answering the question of whether the religious beliefs of the upper echelons of management and gender diversity have any impacts on the communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information in the marketplace. This study attempts to fill the void in the literature by posing the two research question: first, does the CEO religion affect a firm’s CSR behaviour?; second, do the women on the boards influence CSR reporting?
Design/methodology/approach
We performed our tests on a sample of 133 firms listed in Bursa Malaysia that have analysts following using a self-constructed CSR disclosure index based on information in annual reports in 2009. Twenty three percent of our sample firms have Muslim CEOs, and women made up only 8% of board members.
Findings
We find that Muslim CEOs are significantly associated with greater disclosure of CSR information. We also find only a moderate relationship between board gender diversity and CSR disclosure. This is probably due to insufficient number of women on boards.
Research limitations/implications
The disclosure index is based on unsubstantiated CSR information provided in annual reports, and we examine only two aspects of board diversity namely Muslim religiousity and gender mix.
Originality/value
This study advances the research on upper echelons theory by illuminating the importance of religious value in influencing the CSR behaviour of corporate leaders. This has been largely overlooked due to lack of data.
Very limited research has been devoted to answering the question of whether the religious beliefs of the upper echelons of management and gender diversity have any impacts on the communication of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information in the marketplace. This study attempts to fill the void in the literature by posing the two research question: first, does the CEO religion affect a firm’s CSR behaviour?; second, do the women on the boards influence CSR reporting?
Design/methodology/approach
We performed our tests on a sample of 133 firms listed in Bursa Malaysia that have analysts following using a self-constructed CSR disclosure index based on information in annual reports in 2009. Twenty three percent of our sample firms have Muslim CEOs, and women made up only 8% of board members.
Findings
We find that Muslim CEOs are significantly associated with greater disclosure of CSR information. We also find only a moderate relationship between board gender diversity and CSR disclosure. This is probably due to insufficient number of women on boards.
Research limitations/implications
The disclosure index is based on unsubstantiated CSR information provided in annual reports, and we examine only two aspects of board diversity namely Muslim religiousity and gender mix.
Originality/value
This study advances the research on upper echelons theory by illuminating the importance of religious value in influencing the CSR behaviour of corporate leaders. This has been largely overlooked due to lack of data.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 274-296 |
Number of pages | 23 |
Journal | Journal of Islamic Accounting and Business Research |
Volume | 10 |
Issue number | 2 |
Early online date | 1 Apr 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 4 Apr 2019 |
Structured keywords
- AF Accountability Sustainability and Governance
Keywords
- Malaysia
- Corporate social responsibility
- Women directors
- Upper echelon
- Muslim CEO